Car-coupling.



No. 678,92l. Patented July .23, l90i. J. E. WADE.

OAR COUPLING. (Application filed Km. 99, 1899. Renewed Dec. 17, 1900.)

2 SheetsSheet I.

(No Model.)

WITNESSES:

ATTOH N EY Patented July '23, I901. J. E. WADE.

CAR COUPLING.

(Application filed Mar. 29, 1899. Renewed Dec. 17, 1900.)

2 $haets-8heet 2.

No. 678,92l.

, (No llodel.)'

WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY V UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. VADE, OF BROOKLYN, NEXV YORK.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 678,921, dated July 23, 1901. Application filed March 29, 1899. Renewed December 17, 1900. Serial No. 40,21. (No model.)

To a whom, Lima/y concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHNE. WADE, a cit-izen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Oar-Couplers, of which the following.

is a specification.

This invention relates to couplers for railway rolling-stock and it especially appertains to couplers of the vertical-plane or Janney latter behind the lock-piece when a pair of.

couplers are united, the complete look, however, including as elements in its operative condition the swinging jaw, the moving device forming a part thereof, and the movable lock-piece, and the knuckle of an engaged coupler.

In order that my invention may be fully described and explained in detail, I have annexed hereto a sheet of drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top plan View of a pair of couplers interlocked. Fig. 2 is asimilar view of a pair of couplers unlocked. Fig. 3 is a hori zontal sectional view of a coupler, showing the jaw in the closed position. Fig. l is a vertical sectional view of the coupler. Fig. 5 is a vertical detail front elevation of the couplerhead, showing the knuckle in the open position; and Fig. 6 is a detail plan View of the knuckle with its pivotal catch portion.

In said figures, A indicates the ordinary draw-bar of a coupler, and 13 indicates a coupler-head, this being of the usual Master Oar- Builders type.

0 indicates the knuckle or swinging jaw, the same having the coupler-arm c and the locking-arm c.

A pin D is secured in the bifurcated portion of the coupler-head, as seen, and serves as a pivot for the knuckle O, a free space be:

ing provided within the bifurcation to permit of the vertical movement of the knuckle upon its pivot. At the rear of the pintle a forward incline b is formed in the base of the drawhead, and a coincidently-inclined lug b is arranged beneath the arm a to cause said arm and the knuckle O to fall by gravity in turning outwardly, and thereby to remain open 'under all conditions when unlocked. At the pawl to remain normally against the lowermost limit of the incline e, and also by its gravity permitting its vertical face to bear normally against the vertical shoulders e. As seen, the end of locking-arm 0 when closed is intermediate and approximately in the vertical plane of the surface of shoulders e, and a loose piece G, which is pivoted to the arm 0, as by pivot c or by other pivotal arrangement, has a lug or lock catch or finger f, which extends rearwardly (when the knuckle O is closed) to permit it to engage with the pawl F, and has an opposite finger f, which engages by a flange f or other means against the face of arm 0, being thereby limited in its rearward movement. The pawl F being held against lateral movement by contact with the side walls 9 g, bounding the space E, serves when the lock-catch f has engaged with one side thereof (a recess g being provided in one of the side walls 9 to receive said catch f) and when the fingerf is held against the arm 0, as by the engaged knuckle of an opposed coupler, to hold said lock-catch, and consequently the arm 0, se curely in the closed position.

It will be seen that when the coupler is open the loose piece G has an independent movement upon its pin 0 relatively with the locking-arm c, said piece lying, as shown in the drawings, in a horizontal recess formed in said arm 0 and being limited in its rearward movement by the flange f? and limited in its forward movement by a stop f whichis adapted to engage within a recess f in the arm 0. The exact construction and arrangement of the loose piece G is, however, immaterial so long as it swings upon the arm; 0 and that one portion thereof locks against the pawl F when the other portion is pressed home by an interlocking coupler-knuckle.

As will be readily observed, the mere fact of the presence of a body, as the knuckle or another twin coupler,within the coupling cavity of its mate causes the catch f ofthe lat: ter to be held close against its arm 0, where; by the cat-ch f is held rigidly in the engaged position against the side of pawl F and is locked thereby. The said pawl F is during the locking movement of arm 0' moved rearwardly'and upwardly upon its incline e by the contact of the rear beveled portion of catch fin its rearward passage; but immediately said catch f has passed the pawl F the latter falls by its own weight into its normal seat, and thus imprisons the catch f, whereby the coupling is efiected. To open the coupler, the usual crank at the side of the caris employed, together with connectingrod (not shown) and a suitable means of connecting said rod with the pawl F. Said connection may be made through an aperture, as H, in the top of the coupler-head or it may be made through an aperture in the side of the coupler-head. (Not shown.) In case of the aperture being in the top of the coupler-head the pawl F may have a cap I connected to it to 'close the aperture H,and thus prevent cinders,

&c.,from entering thereat. Upon releasing the pawl F from-one of a pair of interlocked couplers, the knuckle of that particular coupler, being unlocked, will swing outwardly, down the incline b, to the wide-open position. This action, if the coupling mate were of any other character,would have no effect whatever,upon its component parts; but, in this instance, the very action or fact of the knuckle of one coupler being withdrawn, by unlocking, from another coupler, both being of my construction, causes the catch of the latter to be released from engagement with its pawl by the dual action of the outward gravity fall of the lock ing-arm and the removal of the actual bulk of the other coupling-knuckle, which permits the fingers ff to turn upon their pivot. Thus whereas one main feature of myinvention lies in the mere fact of the engagement of a pair of my couplers, causing the independent locking mechanism of each coupler'to be operative, another essential feature is the fact that the unlocking of one of a pair of engaged couplers and its withdrawal from its mate causes the locking members of both couplers to open Wide and to remain positively open under all conditions excepting that of being coupled.

Having now described my invention, I declare that what I claim is- 1 A coupler comprising a draw-head, a swinging jaw pivoted therein, a lock-catch pivoted to said jaw, a movable locking-piece, and a transient body in the coupler-jaw to render said lock-catch operative.

2. In a coupler comprising a draw-head, a swinging jaw pivoted therein, and a lockcatch pivoted to said jaw, a locking-pawl, means whereby the continual engagement of 'a twin couplerthe'rewith causes said catch and pawl to be interlocked; and means whereby the withdrawal of the twin coupler alone causes said pawl and catch to become automatically disengaged. p Y

3. A pair of twin couplers each comprising a draw-head, a swinging jaw and a moving lock-piece; together with means when said couplers are interlocked, whereby the disengagement of the lock-piece of one coupler, to open it automatically, causes the other coupler to open likewise.

4:. In a coupler, a draw-head, a. swinging jaw therein, coincident inclines upon the draw-head and jaw to raise and lower the latter as it turns, a catch-finger pivoted to said jaw, a gravity lock-piece, a shoulder to limit the forward movement of said lock-piece, and a rear, inclined bearing to crowd it against said shoulder; together with means as an engaged twin-coupling jaw, to hold the catchfinger in engagement with the lock-piece when the coupler is closed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN E. WADE.

Witnesses:

L. T. SULLIVAN, LAUROW INGELS. 

